Six mental health trusts rollout digital tool for mental health care

Six mental health trusts in London are to roll out a digital tool in 2024-2025 to support assessment of people detained under the Mental Health Act (MHA), Digital Health has reported.

The OneLondon eMHA programme, supported with around £5 million NHS England frontline digitisation funding, will replace current paper-based processes at the trusts with Thalamos eMHA software, which will link admission, treatment, hospital and discharge care pathways.

The first trust to use the software will be East London NHS Foundation Trust, which will begin using it this summer. The other London trusts will follow by April 2025.

OneLondon was launched in 2018 and is a collaboration of five integrated care systems and the London Ambulance Service. The aim of the programme is to join up patient data so that all health care staff in London have access to a patient’s health care record if they need it. The aim is also to give patients more access to their own health records.

Iain Sear, head of communications and engagement at OneLondon, said: “This is about better supporting health and care professionals help people who are in real need and ensuring they get the right care more quickly.”

The Thalamos eMHA software will enable staff to complete MHA documents within mental health trusts’ electronic patient record and electronic prescription management administration systems.

Documents will be securely shared

Health and care staff will be able to share documents securely between relevant organisations and view documents through the London Care Record, independent of which trust created them.

Dr Paul Gilluley, chief medical officer at North East London Integrated Care Board and OneLondon eMHA programme senior responsible owner, welcomed the replacement of the existing paper-based processes, which he described as “outdated”, adding: “I have no doubt that this important programme will make a positive difference on mental health care in the capital.”

Thalamos eMHA software has already been introduced in other parts of the UK, including Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, where it has been in use since 2020.

Arden Tomison, Thalamos founder and CEO, said: “Our software is already making a positive difference for patients in different parts of the country and we look forward to seeing these benefits delivered across the capital.”

OneLondon is a collaborative of London’s five integrated care systems and the London Ambulance Service, created in May 2018 to transform services.

Luke Readman, director of digital transformation at NHS England (London), said: “The London Care Record and Universal Care Plan  are great examples of the positive impact we can make by working together across the capital. I’m confident the OneLondon eMHA programme will be just as successful in supporting safer, faster and more joined up care for Londoners.”

The mental health trusts taking part in the OneLondon eMHA programme are: East London NHS Foundation Trust; North East London NHS Foundation Trust; North London Mental Health Partnership; Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust; Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust; Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust; South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust; and South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust.